Liveblogging the second presidential debate of 2012 from the great Pacific Northwest

Good evening, everyone. Tonight, as we all know, is presidential debate night. In less than an hour, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will take the stage at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York for a town hall or town meeting style debate. The discussion will be moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley ; questions will primarily come from voters selected to participate in the event by Gallup.

We’ll be sharing our observations and impressions here on The Advocate as the debate gets underway; updates will be also simulcast on our Twitter feed. We invite you to weigh in with your thoughts as well in the comments. Before the debate begins, here’s some analysis we think is worth reading:

UPDATE, 5:44 PM: Fifteen minutes to go before the candidates take the stage in New York. C-SPAN is currently showing the pre-debate festivities; the moderator, Candy Crowley, is due to be introduced in a few minutes.

UPDATE, 6:04 PM: Romney gets first stab at the first question. “We have to make sure it’s easier for kids to afford college,” he says. How?

UPDATE, 6:08 PM: President Obama: “We’ve worked hard to ensure student loans are available for folks like you.” Obama administration made sure federal government is lending directly to students instead of helping banks make money.

UPDATE, 6:08 PM: Crowley asks the candidates: What can be done to help those who have been unemployed for a long time?

UPDATE, 6:09 PM: Romney cites his magical five point plan as evidence he deserves people’s votes.

UPDATE, 7:06 PM: Burst of crosstalk… President Obama is tired of Romney’s nonsense…

UPDATE, 7:07 PM: Obama gets a dig in at Romney on his pension: “It’s not as big as yours.”

UPDATE, 7:08 PM: Next question is about Libya.

UPDATE, 7:10 PM: Obama is explaining how he reacted to the attack on America’s consulate in Benghazi.

UPDATE, 7:11 PM: Obama: “I’m the one who has the greet the coffins when they come home.”

UPDATE, 7:16 PM: Obama: “Please proceed, Governor.” The President has had enough.

UPDATE, 7:16 PM: Big moment for Obama. Romney has really tripped himself up here. He just tried to claim the president did not characterize the attack on the consulate in Libya as a terrorist attack early on, when in fact, in Obama’s Rose Garden speech, he did. “Check the transcript,” the President told his opponent. Moderator Candy Crowley backs Obama up. Yay, real-time fact checking! Audience members are clapping.

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The Cascadia Advocate is authored by the staff, board, and contributors of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a netroots powered strategy center working to raise America's quality of life through innovative research and imaginative advocacy.